Beta III
Beta III (also known as C-111 Beta III or UFC 611-Beta III) was a Class M planet located in the C-111 system, and was home to a humanoid species known as Betans. History Circa 3800 BCE, a Betan philosopher named Landru became concerned that the wars amongst the Betan people would ultimately destroy themselves and the planet. In order to bring peace to the planet, Landru built a sophisticated computer -- also named Landru -- which "absorbed" members of Betan society, allowing their actions and emotions to be controlled by the computer. Once Landru's influence had spread over the planet, war, disease, crime, fear, and conflict had been eliminated. The computer also assumed automated control of much of the society's technological systems and infrastructure. In 2167, Beta III was visited by the Federation starship, , conducting a survey mission. The Archon was brought down by Landru and its crew all either absorbed or killed by Landru. A century later, the was dispatched to Beta III to ascertain the fate of the Archon. The Enterprise crew were likewise confronted by Landru and threatened with absorption. But Captain James T. Kirk was able to deactivate the Landru computer by convincing it that it had destroyed the very society it was supposed to protect, thereby creating a paradox in its programming. With Landru's influence negated, Captain Kirk left Ensign Christopher Lindstrom and a team of sociologists behind to help guide the Betans in their new freedom. Additionally, the Corps of Engineers sent the to help bring Beta III's necessary automated systems back on line; Enterprise chief engineer Montgomery Scott also remained on Beta III to assist them. ( ) During this period, Landru was briefly reactivated, and attempted to reassert its influence over the Betan populace. The computer was disabled once again by an electromagnetic pulse generated by a blast from an old spatial torpedo which had been salvaged from the Archon a century earlier. Starfleet considered using Beta III as a starship maintenence facility in the 2260s. ( ) In the mid-2370s, the starship was assigned to an extended sociological re-education program on this planet under the direction of Doctor Timothy Wess. ( ) Alternate reality In the Kelvin timeline, by late 2258, the information in the Federation Archives about Beta III listed it as a "barren rock". All information that remained were rumors, including one passed on to at Starfleet Academy by one of the professors. Also Landru was actually the head of Starfleet's Advanced Research Division in 2167. Landru's, along with the Archon s, mission was to establish one of the first deep space colonies on Beta III that would be regulated by Landru's technology to make the colony thrive. In reality, Landru's technology was to control the colonists and make Landru a god himself. The Archon and it's crew then tried to stop him but failed when his technology pulled the Archon from the sky. The surviving crew on the ground were then left with out means to contact Starfleet. ( | | }}) Mirror universe In the "mirror universe", the Andorian Imperial Guard conquered Beta III in 2155 on behalf of the Terran Empire. General Thy'lek Shran, when presenting spoils of the invasion to Empress Sato, described the inhabitants as "little more than sheep." ( |Age of the Empress}}) :It is unclear what role, if any, Landru played in the history of this mirror Beta III. Appendices Connections External links * category:planets category:alpha and Beta Quadrant planets category:third planets category:federation worlds category:quadrant 1 planets category:mirror universe planets